Pertussis vaccine, used to prevent whooping cough, is difficult to produce because of the extreme variability of Bordetella pertussis in vitro. The vaccine occasionally causes severe side effects, and is known to have several pharmacologic effects on animals. Futhermore, the basis of the protective immunity due to the vaccine is not known. We propose to test ribosomal vaccines of phase I and degraded B. pertussis strains for their protective effect, using the mouse intracerebral challenge model. We also plan to test conventional and ribosomal vaccines applied locally, to determine whether protection ensues, using the mouse intranasal challenge model, and in vitro culture of tracheal explants. We hope that these experiments may aid in developing a vaccine which is both easier to produce and less toxic than the current one. We also hope to discover whether local immunity is important in protection against whooping cough.